System model development for nuclear thermal propulsion

Conference · Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:10183850

Hannan, N A ^[1]; Worley, B A ^[2]; Walton, J T ^[3]; Perkins, K R ^[4]; Buksa, J J ^[5]; Dobranich, D ^[6]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
3. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cleveland, OH (United States). Lewis Research Center
4. Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
5. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
6. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

A critical enabling technology in the evolutionary development of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is the ability to predict the system performance under a variety of operating conditions. This is crucial for mission analysis and for control subsystem testing as well as for the modeling of various failure modes. Performance must be accurately predicted during steady-state and transient operation, including startup, shutdown and post operation cooling. The development and application of verified and validated system models has the potential to reduce the design, testing, cost and time required for the technology to reach flight-ready status. Since October 1991, the US Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA have initiated critical technology development efforts for NTP systems to be used on Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions to the Moon and Mars. This paper presents the strategy and progress of an interagency NASA/DOE/DOD team for NTP system modeling.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States); National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 10183850
• Report Number(s): CONF-9208154-1; ON: DE92041262
• Resource Relation: Conference: 43. congress of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF),Washington, DC (United States),28 Aug - 5 Sep 1992; Other Information: PBD: [1992]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
SPACE PROPULSION REACTORS
PERFORMANCE
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
COMPUTER CODES
MISSION ANALYSIS
SPACE
EXPLORATION
INTERAGENCY COOPERATION
NASA
US DOE
US DOD
FAILURES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
210600
990200
POWER REACTORS, MOBILE, PROPULSION, PACKAGE, AND TRANSPORTABLE
MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTERS